Eurostar reports rise in Amsterdam-London travel

Eurostar Tuesday said it notched a 22% rise in passenger traffic between London and Amsterdam, following the full reopening of the Channel Tunnel in February. Eurostar said its service on-time performance since then was 96%.

The statement coincided with an announcement Tuesday from both Belgian National Railways (SNCB) and the Netherlands' NS Hispeed that additional high speed rail service linking Brussels and Amsterdam will begin next year. "Fyra" high speed trains will connect with Eurostar services at Brussels-Midi, while also stopping at Antwerp, Belgium, and Rotterdam and Schiphol, in the Netherlands, en route to Amsterdam.

Eurostar Director of Communications Simon Montague said, “Travelers are now discovering the advantages of high speed rail for longer journeys across Europe. By making one simple connection they can avoid all the hassles of flying and enjoy journeys from city centre to city centre that arejust as fast overall–and a lot more convenient.”

Rail operations in the Channel Tunnel were disrupted last September when a truck aboard a freight shuttle train caught fire roughly seven miles from the Calais portal. Repairs took about five months, with the tunnel infrastructure restored by February 9; Eurostar resumed full normal service on February 23.